KUWAIT: Boursa Kuwait participated in the 'Investing in Kuwait' virtual forum, the third in a series of digital briefing events held from London Silicon Valley, and online. Jointly presented by Financial Times Live, fDi Intelligence and the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), the forum provided an outstanding platform for the discussion of investment opportunities in the country's post-COVID-19 business environment.

Boursa Kuwait's Head of Markets Sector, Noura Al-Abdulkareem, took part in a lively and informative panel discussion titled 'Kuwait's Capital Markets and Economic Development', which also featured fellow industry experts and business leaders. During the discussion, Al-Abdulkareem shed light on the impact of COVID-19 on the Kuwaiti capital market. She emphasized that Boursa Kuwait had succeeded in remaining operational with minimal impact on trades and transactions, thanks to the swift adoption of effective health and safety protocols that adhered strictly to government guidance.

"Throughout the pandemic, Boursa Kuwait and the capital market apparatus have been taking every step necessary to allow our operations to continue normally with no interruption, working closely with our partners across the international investment community to ensure that the key projects we had in the pipeline were completed," Al-Abdulkareem stated.

She added: "During 2020, we oversaw the self-listing of Boursa Kuwait on the exchange and successfully managed the inclusion of seven listed companies into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index." The inclusion of Kuwait in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index generated unprecedented inflows, with the successful inclusion of seven listed companies resulting in more than 961.6m Kuwaiti dinars traded during a single day. The company has also successfully introduced its first offering of real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Boursa Kuwait's position as a regional leader among stock exchanges also continued to be reinforced with the listing of the bourse on the local stock exchange, continuing a series of firsts for the company. It is the first stock exchange to be at least 90 percent owned by the private sector in the Middle East and the first government entity in Kuwait to successfully undergo privatization.

Al-Abdulkareem commented: "The listing represented a major milestone in our journey that will elevate the country's stature regionally, making it undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories of the last five years for the Kuwaiti financial scene. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we are attracting more investments and have achieved record-setting revenues and profits. We aim to continue to roll out new products and services to further develop the capital market and attract investors and issuers from all classes."

Boursa Kuwait's participation in the 'Investing in Kuwait' virtual forum comes as part of its ongoing efforts to engage virtually, with key partners across the investment community. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the company has successfully organized a series of virtual roadshows and corporate days, as well as conducting its Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meetings online.